The Haunting
by Yami no Tsuki
Summary: Fanfic of The Intruders, by E.E. Richardson. When Tim's father gets engaged, Tim thinks his worst problem is developing a crush on his almost-stepbrother, Joel. But when their new house begins to reveal terrifying secrets, Joel may be the only one who can help. (Rewrite Tim's POV, one-sided Tim/Joel)
1. Prologue

**A/N: **This is a fic of The Intruders by E.E. Richardson (in case you hadn't noticed). I mean, you don't really have to have read it because it's a complete account of the book but from a different perspective, but it helps. Those of you who have fumbled their way to this cobwebby corner of fandoms (honestly, I'm pretty sure this is the first Intruders fanfic on this site- I'm so proud), welcome!

Okay, so, this is my first fanfiction... Never thought I'd see the day, frankly. I won't update regularly, or force myself, so it basically depends on my interest in this piece of writing. Looking up at the the moment, though! It's fuckin weird...

The pace should pick up once I reach the start of the book. I hope. My take on the characters (especially Tim) should become clear after a while too.

Oh, and the chapters will get longer, I swear! This is ridiculously short, but it's a prologue so it's all good :)

ATTENTION FLAMERS! If you weren't planning on giving a constructive (positive or critical) review, PLEASE take the time to flame me. I've never had a flame before, and I feel that it's a life experience I need to have. However, if you do decide to flame, I have one request:

Please do your best to use comprehensible English. I'm not saying it has to be correct, but it really helps if I can tell what the actual hell you're trying to say. I found a stunning YouTube comment the other day that impressed me by exceeding my wildest dreams of failed communication. I couldn't actually tell whether it was a positive or negative comment...

Oh, and see my profile for further flaming tips.

Now for the fic! (Finally. I swear this note is longer than my whole prologue.)

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I definitely don't own The Intruders, or E.E. Richardson. The concept of this fanfic is mine, though, and not really much else.

**Warnings: **spookiness, mild swearing, inept writer at the wheel, homosexual themes (personally I don't think this should need to be a warning, but just in case you have a legit, respectful reason for avoidance and also so haters have absolutely no excuse bar idiocy)

**Word count: **400

* * *

**Prologue**

My mother died of cancer when I was two. I don't remember her, but Dad and Damon -my brother- have told me plenty of stories. She sounds like a wonderful person. I can understand why Dad never got over her. Which is why I was understandably shocked when he broke the news.

"You _what_?" Damon shrieked (in a very manly way).

"I said," Dad repeated, "I've found someone. Her name is Amanda, and I think we really could work. We didn't want to to rush into things without telling our children, though, so..." He trailed off.

"Wait. 'Our children'?" Damon quoted hesitantly.

"Yes. She has two kids as well. Cassie is fourteen and Joel is thirteen, so we're hoping you all get along okay."

Right between me and Damon's ages, then. Like that's all that matters...

"But... What about _Mum_?"

"I..." Dad paused uncomfortably. "Boys, you know I'll never forget your mother, but, well, that doesn't mean I shouldn't move on if I get the chance. She always was a remarkably selfless woman, and I don't think she would have wanted me to stay single for the rest of my life out of guilt."

_I guess that makes sense_, I thought. I was ridiculously confused, and Dad's honesty, as always, really helped. But... It had only ever been the three of us. How on earth could I get used to suddenly having two _girls_ in my family? And another brother? What if he was mean to me? Made fun of me? I knew I wasn't the most intimidating or confident guy in the world, and I was used to being singled out for it.

That said, I wouldn't know until I met them, so my trademark fretting wasn't going to do much good right now. Shaking myself from my thoughts, I realised Dad was still looking at us expectantly. A glance to the side told me Damon wasn't going to formulate coherent sentences any time soon, so I sighed and tried to sort out my thoughts.

"Well..." I spoke for the first time. "Does she make you happy, Dad? This Amanda?"

Damon sputtered while Dad smiled at me.

"Yes, Timmy. She really does."

"I'd like to meet her then. And her kids." I went back to my cereal. Pushing aside my worries, I focused on the look of relief on Dad's face that told me I had made the right choice.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Yo! So, here's the first chapter :)

Next chapter is the start of the book, and hopefully from there on things will become more organised and clear.

**Warnings:** same as the last chapter. For future chapters, all warnings will still apply, but I'll only mention it if there's something new.

**Disclaimer**: Ditto. Believe me, I'll let you know if I suddenly find myself owning E.E. Richards.

**Word Count**: 1,340 (wow, this round numbers thing is awesome. Go my freaky coincidental writing skills.)

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**Chapter 1**

So, that's the abridged version of how I came to be in my current situation. My current situation being, uh, having a complete mental breakdown as I freaked out over THE NEW FAMILY I WAS ABOUT TO MEET. I mean, I know I wasn't supposed to worry about it, but sheesh, that was easier said than done.

_Calm, Tim._ My mind said. _You have nothing to fear. They're not gonna eat you, or beat you up, or be mean to you but maybe they will but then you can tell Dad and he won't make you live with them but you can't ruin Dad's happy relationship but you could be seriously hurt but then someone will notice and help but it could just be psychological hurt and you could become mentally stunted and end up in an insane asylum or just wasting your life until you die alone known only as 'that crazy old guy down the road' and actually this is a terrible idea just run, run Tim while you still-_

_SHUT UP YOU'RE NOT HELPING!_ I screamed at my mind, before its senseless rambling drove me completely over the edge and fulfilled its ominous predictions all on its own.

_... I still think this is a bad idea._ My mind mumbled sulkily. I considered getting serious help for a few seconds, before my raging emotions reclaimed control of my brain once again. I decided to try meditating, even though it had never worked before and Damon always looked at me weird when I serenely settled myself in a corner and refused to speak for a while. Wait... Actually, maybe it was the frustrated screaming following without fail every time that did it...

No matter. It would work this time, I was sure.

I visualised a forest. Forests are cool, calm places, where you can walk endlessly without reaching a no longer inevitable end, because the chances are you're going in circles. Circles are relaxing, too. You can go round and round without ever stopping, as one end feeds into another, feeding into another, feeding into another, until you no longer have any idea where you started or where you could possibly end. The still serenity of the forest morphs into a landscape of stars, reaching endlessly in every direction imaginable. Nothing but an endless void, stretching forever into the distance, so vast that time and distance cease to matter, let alone trivial matters like whether three insignificant humans on a tiny planet in an outsized galaxy would have an inconsequentially negative effect on one lone human who will have long stopped existing by the time any events caused by his life reach even the closest galaxy. His life is tiny, meaningless, as he becomes lost in the unending reaches of the void, becoming no more than dark matter as his planet crumbles or explodes or is engulfed by the dying sun it has circled since the very first stages of its existence. The atoms of the forgotten human disperse and connect and collide with other atoms, flowing further into the oblivion that has already claimed everything the human once knew. The infinite universe blends with the next, connecting seamlessly, maybe even counting as a single entity, but no one will ever comprehend this, as no one can define the edge, knowing only that they have reached a different, or possibly the same, place, as they stretch their-

"We're here." Dad said.

_AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!_ My mind screamed.

* * *

Well, now I just felt stupid. All that insanity for nothing. Why? Because my new step-family were lovely people.

Actually, two of them were lovely people. The sister, Cassie, was a complete cow. A scary cow. She seemed to think it was all our fault her perfect life had been disrupted, and had probably been practicing her death glare in the mirror ever since her mum told her. How else could she get it that threatening? She cheered me up as I realised that my concerns may have been founded after all and I couldn't put the drive here under 'pointless moments of my life' just yet.

On the other hand, her mother and brother cheered me up even more, as I realised that my concerns were entirely unfounded, and, while I had just wasted the last forty minutes of my life, it was a small price to pay for my future happiness.

Overall, I thought they couldn't be more wonderful. Even Cassie, because who really wants to get on with everyone in their family? Pshchepff, whatever. Not me, that's for sure.

Amanda, Dad's girlfriend, was perfectly polite and friendly as she welcomed us into her small but cozy home, despite the occasional glares she sent her eldest child in a futile effort to make her be more hospitable. Her son was the same (minus the glaring- I think he was scared to, because his sister can glare better than him). Within a few minutes, Joel (my new sort-of-step-brother) had rescued Damon and me from the awkward-hanging-around-together we always did when at unfamiliar people's houses. It was one of the few times we actually stayed together around other people, come to think of it. Anyway, Joel saved us and dived right in with some slightly forced, if polite, conversation. It was remarkably less uncomfortable than I expected, and I found myself liking him straight away. Damon was perfectly friendly, but I could tell he was still trying to adjust to the whole 'this is the person I could well be spending the rest of my childhood living with' idea. I was too, but Joel made it easy to forget how daunting the prospect was. He was incredibly friendly, and seemed to be genuinely interested in whatever I had to contribute. Unfortunately, I couldn't quite return the sentiment, as I kept getting distracted by various stray thoughts, such as _oh my god, this boy is a saint_ and _whoa, his eyes are awesome. They're all fragmented and bright and so many shades of-_

"Don't you think?" Joel asked.

"Uh... Sorry?" I blinked and eloquently covered my distraction.

Joel laughed in a non-accusatory way. "You weren't listening, were you?"

"... Maybe?" I tried.

"Sure."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I was just thinking..."

"About what?" He asked curiously.

"Um..." _How awesome you are._ "Nothing important."

"Alright." Joel thankfully let it go, presumably too polite or lacking in confidence to press me further. We relaxed into idle conversation, discovering similarities and differences and just chatting about whatever we could think of. I bet we could have a lengthy discussion about the weather and Joel could make it interesting.

Eventually, Dad broke away from where he was conversing with Amanda, and called, "Tim, Damon! Time to go!" Damon immediately awakened from the glazed state he had fallen into (whoops. I probably should've noticed that...) and set off towards our father. I was more reluctant to stop talking to Joel, but couldn't really think of any reason to continue- and besides, I wouldn't do that to Damon. Cassie had long since disappeared into her room -doubtless earning herself a lecture as soon as we left- and Amanda escorted us to the door, Joel trailing behind and hesitantly waving as we left.

* * *

As I shut my bedroom door behind me, my thoughts turned from what Dad had been talking about back to the boy I had met earlier today. So... Not exactly what I feared. Or expected at all, really. He seemed like a pretty decent guy, actually, despite his wonderful influence of a sister. Of course, I didn't like him _that_ much- after all, I didn't know him very well. Although he did seem cute. And funny, and kind, and cheerful, interesting, remarkably attractive, and just overall- oh shit. I did not. No. No way. Nope. _You can't just do that!_ I shrieked at my brain.

_Oh, but I can,_ it replied smugly. _Besides,_ it continued, _he_ is _hot. Face it, sucker._

Oh god.

I was _so_ crushing on my new step-brother.


End file.
